Alma Mater: Ramapo College ‘96
Seasons as NYU Head Coach: 4 (including 2021-22)
Record at NYU: 16-34
Dagan Nelson was hired as head coach of the New York University men’s basketball team in April 2018. A former Violet assistant during the 2000-02 seasons, Nelson returned with over 20 years of coaching experience.
NYU did not compete in 2020-21 due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the Violets still earned the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award for the second consecutive year, three players were selected to the NABC Honors Court and four Violets received University Athletic Association (UAA) Winter Sport All-Academic honors.
In 2019-20, the Violets posted an 8-17 overall record and a 1-13 mark in the UAA. The team’s season-high five-game winning streak included the NYU Tip-Off Tournament title, which the Violets earned with an 86-82 overtime victory against Western New England University.
Individually, Ethan Feldman earned Second Team All-UAA honors and was selected Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Honorable Mention. Jimmy Martinelli was chosen Most Valuable Player of the NYU Tip-Off Tournament.
Many of Nelson’s players were cited for their academic achievements. Feldman, Martinelli and Bobby Hawkinson were named to the NABC Honors Court, while Hawkinson, Cade Hoppe and Harrison Whatley received UAA Winter Sport All-Academic honors.
In his first season back at NYU as head coach, Nelson led the Violets to an 8-17 overall record and a 2-12 mark in the UAA. He picked up his first victory as Violets’ head coach, 93-88, at Purchase College on November 9. Nelson then earned his first UAA win when the Violets defeated Case Western Reserve University, 81-71, on February 8.
Under Nelson’s guidance, Dom Cristiano earned Second Team All-UAA and All-Metropolitan accolades, as well as All-ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) Honorable Mention. In addition, Cristiano, along with Martinelli, received NYU Tip-Off All-Tournament honors.
Nelson’s players were also recognized for their off-court work as five team members earned UAA All-Academic honors and Jule Brown received the Martin Luther King Jr. Student-Athlete Award.
Beginning with a stint as head coach at Melbourne (FL) Central Catholic High School in 1997 and culminating as a coach with the Upward Stars Southeast AAU Program in Spartanburg, SC, in 2018, Nelson brought 21 years of experience from the high-school level through NCAA Division I with him when he returned to NYU.
Nelson had accumulated nine years of head coaching experience when he took over the position at NYU. In addition to his two seasons at Melbourne (1997-99), he served as head coach at SUNY New Paltz for four years (2007-11) and at Westchester Country Day School in High Point, NC, for three seasons (2011-14).
As an assistant, Nelson spent two seasons at Division I Eastern Kentucky University (2002-04), where he helped produce a top-50 recruiting class. Nelson also served one season at Division I Stony Brook University (2004-05), two seasons as a volunteer at Division II Concordia College (2005-07) and as a volunteer assistant for one season at Division II Pace University (1999-2000).
Over the course of his career, Nelson has coached over 600 games and has helped prepare four student-athletes for professional careers in Europe. Three of those players came out of the Eastern Kentucky program (Michael Haney, Matt Witt, Alonzo Hird), while another, Matt Devine, was instructed by Nelson at SUNY New Paltz.
While at SUNY New Paltz, Nelson recruited and coached five players who became 1,000-point scorers (Devine, Harris Wichard, Shereef Taylor, Taylor Sowah, Nick Taldi). He also led the Hawks to their first in-season championship (2010 Hamilton Tournament) in more than a decade.
During his tenure in New Paltz, Nelson also served as the Head Coach of USA Athletes International during the summers of 2008 and 2009. Those teams were comprised of Division II and Division III student-athletes who Nelson led to a combined 14-3 record competing against semi-pro teams from Spain, Croatia and Bosnia.
In his position with the Upward Stars AAU program, Nelson helped develop multiple student-athletes who have gone on to play at Division I institutions such as Clemson University, the University of South Carolina and Yale University.
During his initial stint at NYU, the Violets posted an overall 32-21 record (18-10 in 2000-01, 14-11 in 2001-02), while two Violets, Brian Beggans and Justin Hoffman, graduated as 1,000-point scorers in 2002. He also helped to recruit Jared Kildare, who still holds the Violets’ record for most assists (185) in a season.
A 1996 graduate of Ramapo College, Nelson earned his Bachelor of Science degree in American Studies. A two-year varsity basketball player, Nelson led the Roadrunners in three-point field goal percentage (.397) and in three-point shots made (29), as a senior. He appeared in all 51 games during his two seasons and graduated among the program’s top-10 in three-point field goal percentage.
Nelson went on to earn a Master of Science degree in sports management from SUNY Cortland in 2015.
A native of Rockville Centre
, NY, and resident of Red Bank, NJ, Nelson is married to the former Erin Donovan.
Nelson’s Head Coaching Records
New York University
Year Overall UAA
2018-19 8-17 2-12
2019-20 8-17 1-13
2020-21 --- --- NYU did not compete due to Covid-19
TOTAL 16-34 3-25
SUNY New Paltz
Year Overall SUNYAC
2007-08 6-19 2-12
2008-09 7-18 4-12
2009-10 11-15 7-11
2010-11 11-14 7-11
TOTAL 35-66 20-46
OVERALL TOTAL 51-100
